Chuck Quackenbush

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Charles "Chuck" Quackenbush (born 1954) is a former Insurance Commissioner of California and California State Assemblyman representing the 22nd District. As a child, he grew up in a military family and after graduating University of Notre Dame, he too joined the army. He was elected as a Republican to the California Assembly in 1986. In 1994 he was elected insurance commissioner, and won re-election 1998. On June 28, 2000, he announced his resignation (to become effection on July 10), rather than face impeachment due to a scandal surrounding insurance settlements after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Prior to the scandal, Quackenbush was considered the most promising Republican elected official in the state of California. After the scandal, Quackenbush moved to Hawaii.

[edit] The Scandal

Cindy Ossias came forward to reveal California State Department of Insurance (DOI) corruption. According to testimony by DOI employees, including Ossias, and staff attorney Robert Hagedorn, the commissioner and his top aides abused their positions for personal gain and acted against consumers’ interests for many years.

After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, it was alleged that Quackenbush allowed insurance companies to compensate their clients much less than the actual damages. In exchange, the insurance companies set up special "educational funds". Those funds were used to create television commercials in which Quackenbush appeared as a basketball referee with Shaquille O'Neal in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform. The commercials were disguised as public service announcements, but the suspicions rose that main idea behind the commercials was to increase Quackenbush's name identification, which is critical for electoral success.

In addition to the educational funds, those same insurance companies contributed to his wife's unsuccessful 1998 assembly campaign, as well as his children's football camps.

Initially, Cindy Ossias blew the whistle as an anonymous source. When her identity was revealed, Quackenbush put her on an administrative leave.

In February 2002, an 18-month investigation conducted by federal, state and Sacramento County prosecutors ended with prosecutors declining to press charges against Quackenbush, as they felt the evidence was not strong enough [1].

[edit] Life after insurance commissioner

After resigning as California's insurance commissioner, Quackenbush moved to Hawaii, where he claimed to be "doing political and military intelligence consulting". In 2006 the San Diego Reader found him working as a deputy sheriff in Lee County, Florida. [2]